Method and apparatus for building tires



T. A. BATTEN 3,510,375 AND APPARATUS FOR BUILDING TIRES May 5, 1970 7Sheets-Shed 1 Filed May 11, 1966 1'. A. BATTEN 3,510,375 METHOD ANDAPPARATUS FOR BUILDING TIRES May 5, 1970 Filed May 11, ,1966

7 Sheets- Sheet 2 May 5, 1970 43,510,375

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR BUILDING TIRES T. A. BATTEN 7 Sheets-Sheet 3Fild May 11, 1966 QUE M@y 1970- Y 1'. ABAT-TEN I 3,510,373

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR BUILDING TIRES Filed May 11, 1966 7Sheets-Sheet 4 'r. A. BATTEN 3,510,375

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR BUILDING TIRES Y May 5, 1 970 Filed May 11.1966 FIGJO FIG.9

May 5, 1970 T. A. BATTEN METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR BUILDING TIRES .7Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed May 11. 1966 May 5, 1970 T. A. BATTEN 3,510,375

v METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR BUILDING TIRES 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed May 11,1966 United States Patent 3,510,375 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR BUILDINGTIRES Thomas Allen Batten, Russellville, Ark., assignor to The FirestoneTire & Rubber Company, Akron, Ohio, a corporation of OhioContinuation-impart of application Ser. No. 216,212, Aug. 10, 1962. Thisapplication May 11, 1966, Ser. No. 550,081

Int. Cl. 152% 17/14, 17/16, 17/22 U.S. Cl. 156-132 1 Claim ABSTRACT OFTHE DISCLOSURE This application is a continuation-in-part of mycopending application Ser. No. 216,212, filed Aug. 10, 1962 now U.S.Pat. No. 3,257,255, issued June 21, 1966.

The present invention relates to ply-down and bead setting method andapparatus for use in the manufacture of tires. More particularly, theinvention relates to method and apparatus for turning down and grippingtire fabric plies over the edges of a core or drum on which the pliesare wound and for precisely placing the beads over the radially outersurface of the plies on the drum surface.

The flat band process of tire manufacture is a method commonly utilizedin the industry. The tire is built on the cylindrical surface of abuilding drum from a number of plies of rubberized tire fabric, thewidth of the plies being such that the borders or skirts of the pliesoverhang both peripheral edges of the drum. These outwardly extendingply overhangs, as they are known in the art, are subsequently wrappedaround the inextensible bead cores. In most cases the ply overhangs,which are turned over the beads, extend for short distances beyond thebeads, or they may extend across the full width between the beads toform additional body plies. Further tire body materials are thenapplied, including whatever additional plies are requisite to theparticular tire desired, ending with the tread and sidewall rubbers.When the completed but unvulcanized tire carcass, known in the art as anuncured tire band, is completed, the drum is collapsed to permit thetire band to be removed for subsequent shaping and vulcanizing into tireform.

Heretofore, the conventional operations involving the placement of beadshave entailed the isolated steps of turning down the ply overhangsaround each peripheral edge of the drum, so that the overhangs extendradially inward; feeding the tire beads coaxially against the end facesof the drum; pressing and seating the beads on the radially inwardlyextending ply overhangs; retracting the bead setting mechanism; and,finally, turning the plies radially outwardly over and around the beadscompletely enclosing them.

With the advent of more rigid requirements for precision in methods oftire construction, the accuracy of placement of the beads has becomemore critical. For example, off-center setting of the beads producesradial run-out, a highly objectional characteristic in tires because oftheir unbalance and attendant thumping. The

3,510,375 Patented May 5, 1970 previously employed bead setting method,as described above, possesses inherent deficiencies which have hinderedconsistent achievement of the required degree of precision in beadsetting. Moreover, the time-consuming nature of the individual, isolatedsteps involved in the bead setting operation have presented limitationson the productivity of the machine and operator, thereby increasing theunit cost for tires.

Accordingly, it is one object of the present invention to provide amethod and apparatus for winding rubberized fabric into cylindricalshapes and automatically placing the beads on the radially outer surfacethereof in exact concentricity with the longitudinal axis of thecylindrical shape of the plies.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatusfor a tire building machine on coaxially separable sections, the matingedges of which are adapted to lie both within a cylinder of tire fabricwound thereon and sequentially to lie one inwardly and one outwardly ofthe fabric.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provideapparatus for a tire building machine as above, having a bead placingassembly outwardly of the separable sections and movable axially withrespect thereto, to precisely place the beads on the radially outersurface of the wound fabric.

Another object of the present invention is to provide apparatus wherebythe beads may be placed on the radially outer surface of a cylinder oftire fabric in exact concentricity with the longitudinal axis thereof bythe method of rotating the cylinder of tire fabric during placement ofthe beads.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a beadplacing assembly which has a power transmitting connection between thebead engaging ring and the driving means which prevents binding of thebead engaging ring onto the separable sections.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide amethod and apparatus which increases the efiiciency of the tiremanufacturing process.

These and other objects, which will become apparent from the followingspecification, are accomplished by means and methods hereinafterdescribed and claimed.

One preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown by way ofexample in the accompanying drawings and described in detail withoutattempting to show all of the various modifications in which theinvention might be embodied, the invention being measured by theappended claims and not by the details of the specification.

In general, a ply-down and bead setting apparatus for a tire buildingmachine, according to the present invention, comprises a rotatable,cylindrical drum assembly coaxially interposed between rotatable plyring assemblies. The ply ring assemblies are axially movable to ward thedrum assembly and into engagement therewith to permit winding of thefabric around the mating ply ring and drum assembly and are sequentiallymovable away from and again toward the drum assembly to permit assuredprecision placement of the bead bundle in contact with the radiallyouter surface of the plies previously wound onto and now carried on thedrum assembly by the bead placing assemblies, one of which is carriedconcentrically outwardly of each ply ring assembly.

The end of each ply ring assembly that engages the drum assembly isprovided with a resiliently mounted radially outwardly flared grip ringand one or more plydownfingers which cooperate to tuck that portion ofthe wound ply which overhangs the end of the drum assembly into the plyring assembly and then secure the ply tightly to the edges of the drumassembly While the head is antomatically positioned by the concentricbead placing assembly. The bead bundle itself is selectively movableaxially of the ply ring assembly on which it is carried by an annularbead engaging ring on the bead placing assembly. The bead engaging ringis slidably moved a ong the outer surface of the ply ring assembly by anantibinding interacting connection between the driving means and thebead engaging ring to position the bead bundle beyond the flaredgripping ring and onto the radially outer surface of the ply itself at apredetermined position, while the drum and ply ring assembly are rotatedby the driving means.

Although the invention is particularly adapted to the building ofso-called radial ply casing tires of the truck and tractor type, it willbe evident that the invention is readily adaptable to the building ofall conventional single bead tires, as well.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the ply ring assemblies, drumassembly, and other components of a tire building machine according tothe invention in the static or rest position; 7

FIG. 2 is a front view, following sequentially after FIG. 1, showing themachine components in the dynamic condition of becoming engaged andinterlocked mechanically, prior to commencement of initial tire buildingoperations;

FIG. 3 is a similar view following sequentially after FIG. 2, showingthe interlocked components during the machines next automatic operation,the mechanical stitching together of the tire fabric plies which havebeen manually applied prior to this operation;

FIG. 4 is a further sequential view showing the machine componentsbecoming disengaged immediately subsequent to the operation shown inFIG. 3;

FIG. 5 illustrates the next step, the return of the ply ring assembliesto an interlocking position with the tire building drum assembly, and,in this view, the ply guide fingers are shown in operative relation tothe tire fabric plies on the surface of the drum assembly;

FIG. 6, another front view, shows the beginning of the next step, theinward travel of the annular bead placing assemblies, with tirebead-Wire bundles intact, over the bare cylindrical ply rings toward thefabric-covered drum assembly, with the ply rings and drum assemblyrotating;

FIG. 7 illustrates the terminus of inward travel begun by the beadplacing assemblies in the View of FIG. 6;

FIG. -8 illustrates the final phase of the bead setting operation, theretracting of bead placing and ply ring assemblies from contact with thedrum assembly, beadwire bundles having been precisely positioned overthe tire fabric on the drum assembly;

FIG. 9 is a top view of the tire building drum assembly during the nextoperation, showing acorn-shaped stitching devices in contact with thefabric edges which have been previously turned up and folded over thebead bundles;

FIG. 10 shows the building operations have been performed;

FIG. 11 is a longitudinal section of one of the coaxially mounted plyring and bead ring assemblies;

FIG. 12 is another longitudinal section similar to FIG. 11, except thatthe ply ring and bead placing assemblies are shown in contact with thedrum assembly;

FIG. 13 is a schematic longitudinal part-section of the ply ringassembly interlocked with the fabric-covered drum assembly, showing theplacement of the bead-wire bundle by the bead placing assembly;

FIG. 14 is substantially a section end-view taken on line 14-14 in FIG.11;

FIG. 15 is a section taken at line 15-15 in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a section taken at line 1616 in FIG. 14;

FIG. 17 is a part section detail of the ply-down guide ring shown inFIG. 13; and

FIG. 18 is an exploded view of FIG. 17.

Referring particularly to FIG. 1 of the drawings, the tire buildingmachine is indicated generally by the numeral 20. The major componentsof the tire building mauncured tire band after all tire chine 20 are thedrum assembly 21, the inboard pedestal assembly 22R, and the outboardpedestal assembly 22L.

The drum assembly 21 comprises a radially expansible cylindrical shell24 having a peripherally beveled edge 25 and being mounted andnon-rotatably secured by spoke linkage and hub means to the supportingand power shaft 26 arbored in a cantilevered thrust bearing 28' mountedon the main housing 29 of the machine and selectively driven to rotatethe drum assembly by power means not shown.

The inboard pedestal assembly 22R and the outboard pedestal assembly 22Leach carry a ply ring assembly 30 and a bead placing assembly 31. Eachpedestal assembly 22 has a base, or sled, 32, slidably supported on asled track 33 to permit the ply ring assembly 30 to be moved axiallyinto and out of engagement with the drum assembly 21. The inboardpedestal assembly 22R has a sleeve bearing 34 for slidable engagementwith the drum supporting shaft 26.

The inboard ply ring assembly 30R itself is mounted on shaft 26 for freerotation by a hub bearing 35R.

The outboard ply ring assembly 30L is similarly mounted for freerotation by providing a stub shaft 36 on outboard pedestal assembly 22Lupon which hub bearing 35L can freely rotate.

The ply ring assemblies 30 are controllably movable into and out ofengagement with the drum assembly 21 by translation means, indicatedgenerally by the numeral 38. The translation of the pedestal assemblies22 is preferably aifected by a fluid actuated, double rod cylinder 39.Each rod 40 is connected to its respective sled 32 by a clevis 41. Thestroke or axial translation, of the inboard pedestal assembly 22R towardthe drum assembly 29 is controlled by an adjustable stop collar 42 onshaft 26 which cooperates with the suitable stop means, not shown,within the cylindrical inboard ply ring assembly 30R.

The actual translation of the outboard pedestal assembly 22L issimilarly controlled by a pilot shaft extension 43 fixed to the outerend of a shaft 26, shown as of a reduced diameter, as at 26A. Thecooperation of these stop means 42 and 43 is more fully hereinafterexplained in conjunction with the description of the mechanism affectingthe ply-down operation.

Each ply ring assembly 30- comprises a cylindrical shell section 44,secured to the hub 35, and cylindrical plydown section connected to theshell section 44 by one or more spacer rings 46. The ply-down section 45is so constructed and arranged as to frictionally engage the respectivebeveled peripheral edge 25 of the drum assembly 21 to cause the ply ringassembly 30 to rotate with the drum assembly 21 when engaged, as shownin FIG. 2.

Referring particularly to FIGS. 11 and 12, the ply-down section 45 hasan annular nose cone 48 rigidly secured to the outer edge of the sheellsection 44 or spacer ring 46, as shown. The enlarged detail of FIGS. 17and 18 depicts the ply-down section 45 to best advantage and shows thatthe annular nose cone 48 is generally wedgeshaped or trapezoidal incross section with a recess or notch 49 in the radially outer side toreceive the spacer ring 46 which may be welded or otherwise securedthereto. The radially outer surface 50 of the nose cone 48 is preferablyaligned with the outer cylindrical surface of the remainder the ply ringassembly to facilitate positioning of the bead bundle as will behereinafter more fully described. The parallel sides 51 and 52 of thetrapezoidal section provide engaging surfaces for maintaining theengaging means, indicated generally by the numeral 53, in fixed axialposition relative to the remainder of the ply ring assembly 30.

The engaging means 53 has a stop block 54 spaced apart from and joinedto the radially inclined grip ring 55 by flared hoop spring 56 whichimparts a degree of resiliency to the grip ring 55 when it isoperatively positioned on the ply-down assembly.

The fourth, or radially inward, annular face 58 of nose cone 48 isradially outwardly inclined and cooperates with a similarly radiallyoutwardly inclined face 59 on the radially outer side of stop block 54to facilitate snapping the engaging means into position by axialmovement relative to the ply ring assembly 30. When the engaging means53 has been snapped into position the engaging surface 51 on nose cone48 mates with the radial engaging surface 60 on stop block 54; theradially inclined surface 58 on nose cone 48 mates with the radiallyinclined surface 61 on grip ring' 55; and, the radial stop shoulder 62on grip ring '55 abuts the second parallel face 52 of trapezoidal stopblock 54 to maintain the engaging means in positive axial position. Thecooperative engagement of the engaging means 53 with the nose cone 48together with the particular configuration of the grip ring 55, causesthe grip ring 55 to assume a flared or radially inclined orientationwith respect to the remainder of the cylindrical ply ring assembly. Theradially inner surface 63 of the grip ring 55 is radially inclined tocooperate with the beveled edge 25 on drum assembly 21 and the radiallyouter-inclined guiding surface 64 terminates at its outer extremity inan axially oriented annular centering shelf 65.

To prevent the engaging means 53 from rotating relative to the remainderof the ply-down assembly, one or more Allen screws 66 extend throughnose cone 48 and are received in appropriate bores 67 in the grip ring55.

As best seen in FIGS. 11 and 12, the tuck-in assembly, indicatedgenerally by the numeral 68, which cooperates with the ply-down section45, as will be more fully understood in conjunction with the operationhereinafter more fully described, is positioned concentrically inwardlyof the ply-down section 45 and comprises a disc base 69 positionedperpendicularly with respect to the longitudinal axis of the ply ringassembly 30 and from which extends a plurality of flat spring ply-downfingers 70. It has been found that at least three such fingers spaced at120 intervals around the said disc base 69 are required for satisfactoryoperation, although the exact number used is discretionary. Eachply-down finger 70 is crooked or bent in dog leg fashion to provide anaxial extension portion 71 and a radially flared camming portion 72which terminates at its outer end in a curved guide portion 73.

The base 69 and attached fingers 70 are mounted for axial translationrelative to the ply-down assembly 45 on axial guide shafts 7 4 whichextend longitudinally of the ply-down assembly 45 from the spider 75connecting the hub 35 to the shell 44. A helical compression spring 76is positioned around each guide shaft 74 to bias the base 69 to theoutermost position away from spider 75, as controlled by the position ofstop collars 78. This position is preferably chosen so that the cammingportion 72 of the ply-down fingers 70 extends in close proximity pastthe axial edge of grip rings 55 and the guide portion is positionedradially outwardly of the centering shelf '65. The inmost position ofbase 69 relative to spider 75 may be controlled by a stop pin 79extending outwardly from spider 75.

Attached to and extending outwardly from the central axis of the base-69 and on the same side thereof as fingers '70 is a pilot sleeve 80which cooperates with pilot shaft extension 43 to effect desired axialtranslation of the tuck-in assembly 68.

The details of the annular bead placing assembly 31 are best shown inFIGS. 13, 15 and 16. The bead placing assembly 31 comprises achannel-in-cross-section annular bead engaging ring 82 which slidablyrides on the outer surface of shell 44, spacer ring 46 and a section ofplydown portion '45 by a series of circumferentially spaced grommetbushings 83 press fitted into suitable retaining bores '84.

This bead engaging ring '82 is selectively reciprocated along theradially outer surface of the ply ring assembly 30 by diametricallyopposed fluid cylinders 85 operating reciprocating rods 86. Attached tothe outer end of rods 86 is an annular flange ring 88 having an L-shapedcross section. The rods 86 are attached to the radially oriented leg 89and interacting means are operatively connected to the axially orientedleg 90. One such interacting means comprises a spindle 91 on which isrotatably mounted a roller bushing 92. The second interacting means is afoot block 93 attached as by bolts 94, one to the axial leg and a secondto the radial leg 89. A plurality of foot blocks 93 and roller bushings92 are circumferentially spaced around the periphery of the flange ring88 and received between the legs and 96 of channel-shaped bead engagingring 82.

The width of the foot block 93 is less than the dimension between, legs95 and 96 and is placed in axial relation to roller bushings 92 so asnot to contact the legs when the roller bushing 92 engages leg 96. Bylocating the roller bushings symmetrically on either side of the pushrods '86, as best shown in FIG. 14, thrust alignment is assured. Thatis, the bead engaging ring can slide a bead bundle B along the ply ringassembly away from the spider and toward the drum assembly withoutbinding because of the spacing and configuration of the interactingmeans. To return the bead engaging ring, the mere engagement of thefixed foot block 93 with leg 95 is sufficient.

Alternatively, the entire bead engaging ring 82 and the secondinteracting means, foot blocks 93, may be eliminated. Thus, the firstinteracting means, spindle 91 and roller bushing 92, would engage andslide a bead bundle B along the ply ring assembly away from the spiderand toward the drum assembly. Due to the fact that the drum assembly 21and ply ring assemblies may be rotated during bead placement, the numberof roller bushings 92 may be reduced to as few as one; sincecircumferential placement of a number of interacting means isunnecessary for this type of operation, the annular flange ring 88 maybe replaced by an angle iron of limited circumferential dimension.

OPERATION Layers or plies of rubber impregnated ply fabric P are appliedcircumferentially to the drum and ply ring assemblies during thesequence of operations normally involved in the construction of anuncured tire band. These plies are wrapped onto the cylindrical core,formed by the engaged drum and ply ring assemblies, from normalservicing means positioned at the back of the tire building machineitself.

As can be seen from FIGS. 11 and 12, when the pilot extension or collar29 engages a similar sleeve within the inboard ply ring assembly, shaft43 engages the pilot sleeve 80 and forces the base 69 of the tuck-inassembly 68 toward the spider 75; the camming portion 72 of the ply-downfinger 70 rides along the axial edge of grip ring 55 retracting theguide portion 73 of the finger 70 radially and axially within thecylindrical portion of the ply-down assembly 30 until the assemblies arefully engaged. Thus, when the drum and ply ring assemblies are engaged,as in FIG. 2, a cylindrical core is formed to permit ready applicationof the fabric ply P.

After these basic plies are applied, mechanical stitchers 98 sew theplies together (FIG. 3) in order to smooth out wrinkles and expel airpockets between the individual plies. This stitching operation alsopromotes better adhesion between the plies.

The next sequential operation involves the placement of rubber andfabric covered bead wire bundles B over the plies on the drum surface.To do this the pedestal assemblies 22 are retracted along rail 32 awayfrom the drum assembly 21 (FIG. 4). Plies P remain on the drum assembly21, shown in phantom, and leave the circumferential edges of the plies,known in the art as ply overhangs indicated as POH, extending beyond thedrum edges.

After retraction, the pedestal assemblies 22 are returned so that theply ring assemblies 30 move toward operative engagement with the plycovered drum assembly 21, as shown in FIG. 5. The ply overhangs POH arecontacted by guide portions 73 of fingers 70 and guided inside thecylindrical ply ring assemblies 30L and 30R. As the as semblies aremoved toward engagement, through the plies P, once again the ply-downfingers 70 retract radially and axially inside the ply ring assembly 30,as described above, and the grip rings 55 register precisely against aportion of the beveled edges 25 of the ply covered drum assembly 21 tolock the plies thereagainst.

The bead bundles B, which had been previously placed over the ply ringassembly 30 out of the way of the portion on which the plies would bewound, are then driven toward the drum assembly 21 by actuation of thefluid pressure cylinders 85. The bundles B loosely slide across theradially outer surface of shells 44, spacer rings 46, nose cones 48 andon to the grip rings 55. As each bundle B is moved axially along theincreasing diameter of guiding surface 64 it attains its fully annularconfiguration and then slides along the centering shelf 65 to repose onthe radially outer surface of the wound fabric plies P (FIG. 7), whichmay be in a plane lying within the beveled edge 25, as shown in FIG. 13of the cylindrical shell 24, thereby virtually eliminating radialrun-out of the beads which occurs in conventional placement of the beadsagainst the end faces of the drum.

To achieve the most precise positioning of the bead bundles, the drumassembly 21, carrying the frictionally locked ply ring assemblies 30,may be rotated by power shaft 26 during bead placement to eliminateerrors in bead placement in the form of lateral run-out caused bymisalignment between the bead placing assembly 31 and the drum assembly21. The above discussed elimination of the bead engaging ring 82 of beadplacing assembly 31 and the use of one or more roller bushings 92 tocontact the bead bundles B may be employed when the drum and ply ringassemblies are rotated 'during bead placement. The bundles B are thusregistered with the drum and ply-down assemblies and are coaxial withthe Wound plies to prevent radial and lateral bead run-out which causesunequal cord lengths between beads of a given tire in its uncured formand the resultant variations in section width or imbalance appearing inthe shaped and cured band.

After the bead bundles B have been precisely positioned over the plyfabric P, the ply ring assemblies 30 are again retracted from engagementwith the drum assembly 21, and the circumferential edges POH of theplies overhanging the drum are folded and stitched over and around thebead bundle B.

As shown in FIG. 9, acorn stitching tools 99 operatively contact the plyoverhangs POH which have previously been turned up and folded over thebead wire bundles B. This wrapping and stitching operation locks thebeads within the ply fabric carcass and works out air pockets andwrinkles.

Further ply application and stitching operations follow. The tread andside wall rubber is wrapped around the 3 carcass and stitched thereto.The uncured tire band is then removed from the expansible drum assembly21, ready for shaping and vulcanizing.

It is therefore apparent that the practice of the process and theconstruction of a ply-down and bead setting apparatus according to theconcepts herein disclosed accomplish the objects of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A method of bead setting on an uncured tire band comprising the stepsof, winding at least one ply of tire fabric onto a core to form a bandof predetermined width, removing a section of the supporting core fromeach side of the band to leave a portion of the bead receiving areaextending beyond the remaining portion of the core, repositioning thepreviously removed sections of the supporting core to first decrease thediameter of the bead receiving area and then to restrictively engage aportion of said bead receiving area against a beveled surface of theremaining portion of the core, sliding the bead bundles onto the beveledsurface while simultaneously rotating the core with a band carriedthereon thereby placing the bead bundles in a radial plane on the outerbeveled surface of the band so as to center the bead bundle with respectto the rotational axis of the core to preclude lateral and radialrun-out, and again removing a section of the supporting core from eachside of the band preparatory to folding a portion of the bead receivingarea over the bead bundles and stitching in place.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,655,897 1/1928 Feyzes 1564031,753,973 4/1930 Slusher 156403 2,313,035 3/1943 Breth 156-l32 X2,393,504 1/1946 Stevens 156-403 2,409,974 10/1946 Breth et a1. 156402 X2,614,952 10/1952 Kraft 156l32 X 2,754,884 7/1956 Jetferys et al 1564023,093,531 6/1963 Frohlich et a1. 156-400 FOREIGN PATENTS 691,195 5/1953Great Britain.

JOHN T. GOOLKASIAN, Primary Examiner C. B. COSBY, Assistant Examiner US.Cl. X.R.

